


Sensations

by ghostmaya



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Everyone's bi, F/M, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Texting, Witchcraft, Witches, everyone's neurodivergent, there are 0 braincells in this entire fic, witches have a 6th sense for magic hence the title
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostmaya/pseuds/ghostmaya
Summary: “I think I’ll just go by Ladybug tonight, Chat Noir.”“Feisty and secretive,” said Chat Noir, not even batting an eye. He was a professional, what did Marinette expect? He did turn away from her though, addressing the audience when he said, “I like this one.”“Did I come up here as eye candy, or did you actually plan to put on a show, Kitty?”Or: Love Square but they go to witch college and are secretly magicians on the side.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	Sensations

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings Miraculous Ladybug fandom, thanks for stopping by! I hope you find some joy from this extremely self indulgent Love Square fic I've been stewing for the past few months. I will give you a fair warning: it took me about five months to write and post this chapter, and I don't expect the process time to change anytime soon. To be completely honest, I was hoping to get the first chapter out by Halloween, which, well, yeah, that was a while ago now, whoopsies. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

“And now, for my _final_ trick,” said Chat Noir as a drumroll filled the outdoor auditorium, “I’d like to call upon a volunteer from the audience!” 

Chat Noir swept his hand over his head in an arc, the gesture so grand that if Marinette didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought it was the most important thing he’d ever done. A spark of golden light followed it to give the illusion of a shooting star, speeding past his masked face and golden hair before dissipating into tiny streaks over the crowd. It was completely ridiculous.

Hands shot up all around Marinette and Alya, little kids hopping on their tippy toes, fangirls shrieking and waving. Marinette rolled her eyes. “This is ridiculous. He’s not even doing anything impressive, just parlour tricks you learned in second grade.”

“It’s about the _showmanship,_ Mari,” said Alya, snickering behind her Fox mask. She wore that old mask every year to the Arts Festival, and it showed. The decadent details of the orange, silver, and gold threads had started to wash out, and the sides had begun to fray. It still flattered Alya though, and she knew it; even if she wasn’t wearing her matching tuxedo, she would still be turning heads. 

Marinette, on the other hand, had to actually _work_ to look good tonight. She made her own costume a few years ago: a simple enough red jumpsuit with black polka dots that served as the base to her knee-high studded combat boots, wings that were crafted to look like cracked glass, and, of course, her own hand-sewed mask, with two antennas on top to tie it all together. She would probably have to redo her mask for next year; her current Ladybug mask was being held together with a sigil on the inside. Yes, Marinette was aware that using a sigil to hold a mask together was ridiculous, but fabric glue was _expensive_.

“What’s so funny, huh? Up to your _Trixx_ again?” She wiggled her eyebrows, and winked at the fox Familiar she knew was camouflaged somewhere on Alya’s person. 

“Trixx wants me to tell you that that was an awful joke. And no, you’ll find out what’s funny soon enough.” Marinette jutted out her chin, squinting at her. The sweetness dripping from Alya’s voice meant something catastrophic was about to happen, and, knowing Alya, Marinette was not going to be happy about it. Especially since, just like the eccentric performer on stage, Alya had a taste for theatrics, and _loved_ to make Marinette the star of her show.

Chat Noir certainly seemed to enjoy himself, looking around the audience with his hand over his brow, hunched over and squinting. There were spotlights drifting over everyone, teasing the hopeful candidates for the chance to be close to their idol. “Aha!” he said, and the spotlights stilled. “I think I’ve spotted a lovely lady willing to be my subject tonight.” The lights converged into one, circling around the audience in a swirling circle. “Or shall I say lovely Lady _bug_.” 

The beam of light fell right on top of Marinette. The entire audience turned to look at her, thousands of eyes watching. It was only then that, in horror, she realized that hovering above herself was an illusion of her torso raising her hand, and beaming at the crowd. She glared at Alya. “I hate you.”

“You got this girl,” she said, and gave Marinette a shove, the illusion disappearing with it. Volunteering at her parent’s witch-themed food kiosk suddenly seemed like a missed opportunity rather than a narrowly escaped work prison. _Why_ did Alya do this? 

She had just managed to get over the embarrassment of her _incident_ last semester in Potions, and now she was going to embarrass herself all over again. Unless… nobody knew that it was her. She _was_ wearing a costume after all. Not too many people knew her Familiar was a ladybug, so they might not make the connection. As she strode towards the stage, she found that she didn’t recognize anyone at all, even though she knew her classmates were somewhere in the crowd. It was completely anonymous. She could have a chance to show this school what she was made of, if only for an instance. 

The wheels were in motion. 

“Ah! So glad you could finally join me, Mademoiselle,” Chat Noir said, whirling around on his feet, and bowing deeply. Then he turned to the audience with a hand blocking his mouth from Marinette’s view, “Took her long enough.” The audience cracked up, some people whooping and cheering. They’ll really bite onto anything. 

Marinette smiled. “If you wanted someone fast, perhaps you should have chosen the rabbit instead.” 

“Oho, we’ve reeled in a feisty one today folks. May I get the name of this fine catch?” Chat Noir looked into Marinette’s eyes for the first time, and behind the overconfident flare, she saw a twinkle of wild childhood adventure. As if Marinette was a wrapped up birthday gift that he couldn’t wait to rip open. Her name was a dangling toy mouse in front of an eager cat.

“I think I’ll just go by Ladybug tonight, _Chat Noir_.” 

“Feisty _and_ secretive,” he said, not even batting an eye. He was a professional, what did she expect? He did turn away from her though, addressing the audience when he said, “I like this one.” 

“Did I come up here as eye candy, or did you actually plan to put on a show, Kitty?” 

* * *

So it was a show that she wanted? Well, Adrien could definitely deliver on that. His final trick was not one for the feeble minded; he’d been working on perfecting it for a while, and this was by far his best performance yet. Of course, that was no thanks to his wonderful volunteer, who he heard cast a couple spells of her own to enhance watchability. He’d have to make a note about that later.

The two of them took their bows, and Adrien couldn’t stop grinning. The audience clapped, whooped, and whistled, many people jumping up and down as if to say ‘if we weren’t already standing, we’d give you a standing ovation’. Ladybug’s smile was just as wide as his own, and Adrien’s stomach flipped.

It was almost time to send her back to the audience, and he didn’t even know her name. Adrien _had_ to get this girl’s number, or find some way to keep in contact. He was _definitely_ interested in her, and even if she wasn’t in that way, he at least wanted to be friends. Alas, he was on stage in front of practically the entire college student body, and he couldn’t very well _ask_ . There had to be _something_ he could do. He was a magician for heaven's sake, a master of illusion!

A rose soared up from the audience, landing on the stage. Soon flowers of all kinds landed on stage, enough to make a few bouquets. Adrien stood from his bowed position, swishing his costumed tail behind him, and knew exactly what he was going to do.

“Before I bid you adieu, M’Lady,” he said, projecting over the cheering to signal the audience to quiet down, “I must insist you accept a souvenir to remember this magical evening.” Adrien pulled out a deck of cards, making a show of its volume by passing them between hands with the satisfying sound of shuffling. Ladybug was standing too, weight on one leg and waiting to see what he had planned. With one hand behind his back, free to start up the preparations he needed to make, he spread out the cards with his thumb. “Pick a card, any card.” 

Ladybug barked a laugh at his goofy delivery, and Adrien was delighted. He barely registered the audience clapping. “Aren’t you supposed to show me the cards face up first, so I know you're not pulling any funny business?” she asked, a smile playing at her lips. 

“Perhaps, but what’s the fun in that?” he asked with a wink. Then he paused, and let what he said sink in. He lost his smile in his revelation, and blinked. He wasn’t upset, just sincere. He looked at Ladybug, no longer caring about the audience, and he stopped his preparations for a moment. “The people- the people who think it’s fake, or let the magic spoil itself, aren’t going to change their mind no matter _what_ I do, so I only ever play for the people who _choose_ to be entertained.” 

He didn’t say it, but he hoped she understood that he was asking _her_ to choose. 

Ladybug’s grin for the audience slipped, and she was staring at him, wide-eyed and mouth slightly ajar. Heat rushed to Adrien’s cheeks, and he gave her a lopsided smile. His Adrien was coming out _far_ too strongly, and he had to get back on track, stat. He fumbled mentally for Chat Noir, the persona that usually came naturally when he was on stage. Choosing to be entertained wasn’t going to matter if he couldn’t form a coherent sentence. He had to _do something_.

“Thank you, Chat Noir,” said Ladybug. She smiled, and even though the top half of her face was covered by the decadent Ladybug mask she wore, he saw her light up. It made Adrien’s heart flutter, and knocked the wind back into his body. She lifted her arm, and he leaned forward, ready to take her hand in his own. She tapped a card in the deck he still held. “I’ll have this one.”

Oh god, he was totally ready to kiss her hand, and she was just choosing a card. What was _happening_? He was losing his entire composure! He had a trick planned, and he was going to see it through. Ladybug slipped the card she chose from under Adrien’s thumb, and right when he felt the pressure release, he turned the rest of the cards upside down, and with a flick of his wrist, into a bouquet of pink, red, and white roses. 

Ladybug gasped, and so did the audience. It was a simple trick really, but entertaining all the same. He was back on track. 

“Well?” he asked, after giving her and the audience a moment to process the transformation, “What card did you get?”

The ten of hearts. “The ten of hearts.”

“My my, a lucky card for a lucky Ladybug.” He smiled at Ladybug’s puzzled face, and held out his hand. “May I?”

“Sure?” She handed the card back over to him, and he shook it twice. He didn’t plan for this beforehand, so he had to use a transformation spell to change the contents of the card. He nestled it safely in the bouquet, back-side up. 

He handed the bouquet over, not giving Ladybug a chance to decline it, and it almost fell out of her grasp. She caught it, as he had no doubt she would. Then he stood there, in silence, a goofy grin plastered to his face. Now what? Adrien had _no_ idea what to say, or do. Where did his witty improv go? He had to end the show somehow. “Thank you so much for joining me today, Ladybug.” It was stilted and wrong. He didn’t want the show to end. “Let’s hear one last round of applause for her, and _purr_ haps the crowd can part for her to reunite with her accompaniment?”

Cheers and claps swept up the audience, but the only sound he could focus on was the soft hum of his transformation spell emitting from between Ladybug’s arms. She turned to him, clutching the bouquet, smiling. For every person clapping, that smile was worth a million. Adrien wasn’t sure… but Ladybug might be the first person in a long time who understood the true magic of his trade. 

She stepped down into the crowd, and just like that, his Miraculous Ladybug disappeared. 

He really hoped she’d call him. 

* * *

“Girl, what in the HECK just happened up there?”

Marinette could ask the same thing. “I- I dunno.” She clutched the bouquet of roses to her chest, and the smell made her dizzy. She replayed that moment on stage over and over, but no matter what angle she looked at it, she couldn’t figure out the trick. The flowers came out of nowhere, but he didn’t use magic. It was impossible! The only logical explanation was magic, but there was no trace of it. There was no way Chat Noir could have planned for it, and he still pulled it off flawlessly. This was something far more amazing than parlour tricks, and Marinette wanted to learn. Could that be her, on stage, making an audience stare in awe as she pulled off impossible feats? Who could possibly teach her?

Chat Noir’s green eyes filled her thoughts, leaning forward as she went to pick a card, like he was drawn in by a magnet. All her life Marinette had been nothing more than another girl in the background; her grades didn’t even do anything because she never gloated, and the school was filled with talent. Having every eye drawn to her, having the attention of _Chat Noir_ himself was thrilling, and she wanted more. If she wanted to, she could _be_ something as Ladybug. 

Her heart thrummed in her chest, and she stumbled. There were so many _people_ , and they all seemed to be crowding around her. Maybe they were, she _had_ just been on stage after all, and was holding a bouquet gifted to her by none other than the man they all came to see. Nothing around her was sinking in anymore, so she kept her head low, and focused on Alya’s fox-tail ponytail. 

“Oh jeez, that sensory overload is really starting to hit,” said Alya. She looked at Marinette, and she nodded in miserable agreement. “Let’s go find somewhere quieter.” She tugged Marinette through the crowd, but all Marinette retained was the swish of Alya’s orange hair, and the smell of the roses. She heard clips of people muttering about the roses, about her on stage, and she hoped to god nobody recognized her as Marinette. If people in school knew that she got to be on stage like that, she’d never hear the end of it. 

After what felt like ten minutes of wading their way through the crowd, and Marinette almost dropping her bouquet several times, they _finally_ spilled into the main area. It wasn’t much better, but at least she could breathe fresh air again. The festival was everywhere. The campus felt like someone took an entire urban city and dumped it on the grounds. Her well-tread walkways were blocked by kiosks, food stands, and people upon people upon people. Most of them were students from the three campuses of Françoise Dupont (they got free entrance), but the Paris locals loved to buy their way in, or even set up their own booths, and it was unsurprisingly a fantastic tourist attraction. Naturally, that meant that any hope of a quiet place was immediately squandered. 

Marinette wracked her brain for any spells that might help. Illusion and cloaking spells were Alya’s specialty, but Marinette was no stranger to them. All she could remember was a stupid one that only works on people who know the idiom. “Occupe-toi de tes oignons!” 

Sure enough, people around her started to look pointedly in the other direction. She was lucky that the festival didn’t have many tourists, because there was no way English speakers would understand that ‘take care of your onions’ would essentially equate to ‘mind your own business’. 

“Nice thinking! Finally I can _breathe_ again. Didn’t I teach you that one?” said Alya, stopping to stretch.

“Yeah, back in elementary school.”

“Makes sense, since it’s a wimpy one to use.”

“Well I’m _sorry_ I don’t have a knack for coloquial spells.” 

“You know a lot more than you think,” said Alya, and since she apparently couldn’t bear to doll out a stand-alone compliment, she added, “Because you study like a loser.” 

It was one of those conversations the two of them had had in the past, and would probably have again in the future. It was like a routine at this point, they knew exactly what to tease each other for, and how to quib back. They smiled through the whole bit, eating up the familiarity of their relationship. 

“Do you think your parent’s kiosk has a place to sit so we can talk? I hope you don’t think you’re off the hook for telling me _everything_ that went through your mind when you were on stage.” 

The two of them had got caught up wandering around the grounds after people lost interest in them for a while, and now Marinette was feeling peckish. “Probably. I haven’t visited them today yet.” 

“You had potential free food all night and didn’t go there _once_? How are you my friend?”

“I was doing homework right up until I met you at the show…” she said to the ground. It wasn’t like Marinette especially enjoyed walking through a crowded area for the sole purpose of wasting her money and stuffing herself with junk. She had plenty of her _own_ junk food in the comfort of her room, where she could be productive and not get sensory overload, thank you very much. 

Alya chuckled through a sigh, shaking her head. “Honestly, I don’t know why I thought you would’ve been here beforehand.” 

Marinette shrugged. Her stomach growled and her feet were starting to _kill_. “There it is!” she said, and made a beeline towards the booth. “Maman! Papa!”

“Marinette! Alya! You two are just what we need!” A platter of stacked cookies shaped like witch hats was shoved into Marinette’s arms, and her well protected bouquet of roses was in her mother’s grasp. Her maman sniffed the air, and cringed.

“Maman-”

“Of all the spells you could have casted, why did you choose the one that smells like onions! Here, drink this.” She shoved a vile into Marinette’s mouth, which Marinette was forced to down, and spit out onto the ground. 

“Mom! We’re not here to work!” The wave of aftertaste hit her, it was something between metal, eggplant, and fish. “Eugh, what _was_ that?!”

“A dash of ‘notice me’ that I’ve been working on. You were the perfect lab rat, I think it worked quite well as a counteract to that schoolgirl’s charm you had wafting around yourself! I’ll have to work on that aftertaste if I want to make it sellable though. And don’t call me ‘mom’.”

While Marinette sensed spells as a sixth sense, her mother smelled them. She said that each one smelled distinct, and that Marinette always chose the stinkiest of the bunch. Obviously, though, her great sense of smell did nothing to improve her atrocious sense of taste. _Why_ in the world did she ever choose to make _potions_ for a _living_ of all things?

Marinette shoved a cookie in her mouth to tame her growling stomach, and suffering taste-buds, and to avoid answering her mother. “Mmmm! This is really good!” she said, the words muffled through her chewing. It was a sugar cookie with nutmeg-based spice, and the texture was perfect, it was soft but not chewy, and the icing crumbled apart at just the right time. Definitely the handy work of her father. 

“Great!” Maman said, “Tell that to the customers now, why don’t you?” 

Marinette was getting absolutely nowhere with this, so she looked over to Alya with a silent plea. She winked back with her sly grin, and turned to her mother. “Do you mind if we change first, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?” 

“Oh, of course Alya dear! And please, call me Sabine.” 

Alya smiled, Marinette rolled her eyes, and the two of them were on their way.

As soon as they made it into the washroom, Alya was jumping all over her. She was asking so many questions that Marinette could barely understand her _own_ thoughts. “Alya, slow down! You’re short-circuiting my brain!”

“Sorry! I swear there’s an ADD and ADHD walked into a bar joke in there somewhere. Anyways, take this.” She shoved the bouquet of flowers into Marinette’s lap. They were both perched on the make-up table, and kept getting glares from women who wanted to use the space for its actual purpose. 

“You know ADD isn’t even a thing anymore, so I’m technically also ADHD. Just, less hyperactive than you. And more clumsy.” She looked at the wall across from them, and started ripping the paper wrapping of the bouquet, rolling it around between her fingers.

“Stop avoiding the flowers and look at the card already!” 

Marinette flicked the paper onto the ground. “You noticed too?” When Chat took the card back from her, she could sense that he cast a transformation spell on it. It still had a tinge of magic radiating from it, but it was very faint. 

“Hard _not_ to notice a tinge of green amongst a bunch of red, white, and pink,” she said. Marinette found Alya’s synesthetic sense of magic _fascinating_ , and always asked her what colour her spells were. If she were to assign a colour to what she sensed, green would not have come to mind.

“Hm.” She plucked the card out of the bouquet, and flipped it over, Alya hovering over her shoulder. Marinette’s jaw dropped, and heat rose to the tips of her ears.

“No way! Holy shit!” yelled Alya, jumping off the ledge, and started pacing around, hands on her forehead. “Holy _shit_!” A few people glared at her.

Marinette could hardly believe her eyes. If what she was seeing was what she thought she was seeing, then she was probably dreaming. Written on each of the ten hearts was a number. The first three were her area code. At the bottom there was a little caricature of Chat Noir winking. 

Chat Noir had given Marinette his _phone number_. 

* * *

‘Ding!’ is the sound Adrien’s phone _would_ have made, four hours ago, if it wasn’t on silent. After his show he was signing autographs at the stage door for at least an hour, and when he finally managed to get out of costume and sneak out of the building, Nino caught up to him and they spent the next few hours making the rounds around the kiosks.

He was gushing about Ladybug to Nino practically all night, but he was too much of a scardy cat to actually check his phone to see if she called. She was probably busy enjoying the festival anyways, or so he _thought_. 

Despite the stress it was still a fun night; he spent some time with Nino’s girlfriend, Alya, and her friend, who were selling delicious cookies. Alya’s friend was in the same history class as he was, and she seemed really smart. Too bad she was so busy selling cookies to really talk. By the time he got home his phone had run out of battery, so he left it to charge while he showered and got ready for bed. Staring at his phone now though, he didn’t think sleep would be an option.

Adrien hugged his knees to his chest, grinning from ear to ear. He squealed into a giggle, and he knew he probably looked like a madman, but he didn’t care. Right on his homepage, sandwiched between other irrelevant social media notifications, was a text from an unknown number that read: “Hello? Is this Chat Noir? If it i…” 

“You look like you’ve just decided to commit a murder,” said Plagg, jumping onto his bed and stretching his forepaws, “Does that mean the mysterious Ladybug called you?” 

His familiar curled up beside him, and Adrien scratched under his chin. “She texted me! Which makes a lot more sense honestly. Should I text her back?”

“No,” said Plagg, without hesitation.

“No? Why not?” 

“Because the answer was obviously yes, and you’re just too fun to mess with.”

Adrien picked up his pillow, shoved his face into it, and groaned. 

“Just open the text, Casanova.” 

“What if she says she hates me?” he said, the sound muffled in the feathers (which also poked him in the face). 

“Then say ‘ok’ and move on with your life.” 

Adrien groaned again. He mustered up all the courage he had, and opened the text.

To: **Unknown Number**

* * *

Hello? Is this Chat Noir? If it is I’m Ladybug from your show tonight

**yup! ‘tis I, the one and only Chat Noir (other than every other black cat :3) - sorry I didn’t get back to u earlier ;3**

That’s okay! I’m sure you were busy after the show and all

Sorry to be really blunt, but why did you give me your number?

**wow that /was/ really blunt! As a master of illusion, I cringe away from the truth, and applaud your candor**

**seriously tho, I just think you’re really cool! and yes, also very pretty, but I want to be friends first and foremost! Unless… [eyes emoji]**

oh! Well, thank you :) 

I’m sorry I’m not the best at texting

**dont worry - ur good! If it makes u feel better we can call tho ;3**

no that’s ok! It’s pretty late, and I have to wake up early tomorrow, so I’m going to go to sleep now if that’s alright

**of course! Have a good night :3**

you too :)

* * *

iMessage

* * *

Adrien couldn’t stop grinning. He squeezed his pillow to his chest, and stared at the conversation that just transpired. He had Ladybug’s number! And she didn’t say she _wasn’t_ interested. Well, she avoided the comment, but still! She accepted the compliment!

“You’re so lame,” said Plagg. 

“Stop reading my texts,” said Adrien, not having the heart to deny Plagg’s words, or to actually mean it. 

He may or may not have been overstepping it to suggest calling right away, but on the flip side, if they didn’t, it might be really awkward later on. Also, he missed the sound of Ladybug’s voice. Or maybe it was the sound of her in general? He hadn’t really realized he was hearing her onstage, but afterwards, he’d noticed the absence. It was as if her sound was _meant_ to be there, harmonizing with his own. 

How did _she_ sense magic, he wondered. Her sound was so pure; he imagined she must have a sixth sense for it, coming close to knowing what magic actually felt like. Or sensed like? There wasn’t even a word for people with a sixth sense. Or maybe there was and he forgot he learned it in Magic Theory, like he did with everything else in that awful course. Which he had first thing tomorrow. And it was one in the morning. Adrien groaned, and tried to will his brain to shut down.

Of course, because the universe hated him, his phone lit up with a notification. It was Nino. Technically, Adrien _could_ have ignored it, shut off his phone, and went to sleep, but since he had exactly zero self control, he opened up his messages.

To: **Nino**

* * *

yo dude me and alya are starting a discord for school friends go get the app and join

[ https://discord.gg/nnyPQtU ](https://discord.gg/nnyPQtU)

**discord as in the my little pony character?**

SKDFSKFJKSKS 

no its a chat app lmfao

i literally hate u now i have the song stuck in my head 

**> :^3**

please stop using cat emojis dude im /begging/

**dw they’re only for the people who know my cat side ;^3**

ah so im alone in this suffering

**well… purrhaps a certain bug texted me earlier >;^3**

… 

hate to say it but u ruined ur chances with that one buddy

**:’^3**

* * *

iMessage

* * *

Discord finished downloading, and he clicked on the link Nino sent him. He had to sign up, and then confirm wanting to join a server called ‘miraculously talented dumbasses’. It looked absolutely nothing like any other chat app he’d seen before, but he could at least somewhat follow who was saying what.

# **general**

* * *

Welcome to the beginning of the **#general** channel.

 **I like tortals (Nino)  
** first

 **I like tortals (Nino)** pinned a message to this channel. **See all the pins.**

→ Welcome, **rena rouge**. Leave your weapons by the door.

 **rena rouge  
** Why am i dating u again

→ **Adrien** just joined. Hide your bananas.

 **Adrien  
** hi all! Thanks for inviting me :) 

**I like tortals (Nino)  
** ayy welcome nerds 

**rena rouge  
** make me admin coward

 **I like tortals (Nino)  
** chillax dude u literally joined 2 seconds ago

 **Adrien  
** I’m so confused how do u use this app

 **I like tortals (Nino)  
** youll figure it out **@Adrien** :stuck_out_tongue:

 **Admin Alya  
** I’m gonna fix up this server and ill explain after **@Adrien**

also i sent invites to a bunch of people and some of them dont know how to use it either, so i’ll just make a massive tutorial for everyone :thumbsup:

 **Adrien  
** Ok well in that case im gonna go to sleep bc im exhausted. gnight all!

* * *

Message #general

* * *

It took all of Adrien’s willpower to shut off his phone, and place it on his night-table instead of opening some social media app and scrolling through it for the next two hours. Plagg was snoring, his tail brushing against his pillow. He smiled, sinking under the covers. Maybe when more people joined the Discord, Adrien could make some real friends other than Nino. 

Would he be able to become friends with Ladybug? She could have texted him because she wanted something from him, like anyone else who played nice with his alter ego. He wasn’t sure if he was being naive, or unrealistic, but he wanted to believe that she wanted to be his friend. Or maybe even his partner. He closed his eyes.

That night he dreamed of a black-spotted red-masked face.

* * *

“‘Oh, well, thank you?!’” said Alya, reading over the text conversation Marinette had with Chat Noir last night. 

Marinette cringed. “I know, it’s bad.” 

“Well at least he didn’t seem phased by it. You really need to work on your texting skills,” she said. She took a sip of her steaming tea, and made a sound that could have been easily been a cat’s mew. 

“And you need to work on your ‘don’t drink tea while it’s still burning hot’ skills,” said Marinette, taking her phone back. She glanced over the short conversation, and buried her face in her hands. “Ugh, why is texting so difficult!?” 

Despite what Alya said, Marinette knew she messed this one up. She ended the conversation on such an awkward note, when she could have called him! He was open about being interested in her, and she managed to avoid the topic altogether. Her messages were so mixed _she_ couldn’t even tell what she was trying to say. It was far too soon for her to even entertain the idea of a relationship, and here she was, reaching out to a blatant flirt. Given, the blatant flirt _was_ Chat Noir, so maybe she could give herself a pass on that one. 

“I dunno girl, you’re like, the only person I know who’s like that. Speaking of, did you join the Discord I sent you?” 

“No, I’ll do that now,” said Marinette; she was reluctant but she knew she wasn’t going to get out of this one. She connected to the cafe’s wifi, casted a VPN charm on her phone, and downloaded the app. The charm was technically illegal, but every witch knew how to do it, and used it anyways. After going through all the logging in steps, she finally made it into the server itself. It looked like gibberish, but that was practically all messaging apps for Marinette. “What am I looking at here?” 

“Here look, go to the pinned message like this -” Alya said, pressing a few buttons that Marinette was not going to remember, “and read our intros, then make your own.”

# **welcome**

* * *

**Admin Alya  
** Intro should include: Name, Year, Major/Minor, Courses, & Pronouns

 **Admin Alya** pinned a message to this channel. **See all the pins.**

 **Admin Alya  
** Hi I’m Alya, she/her pronouns, big bi and dating local dumbass **@I like tortals (Nino)** . I’m a 3rd year and somehow still here, and I’m majoring in Integrated Magic in Media & minoring in Illusions. This sem I’m taking Journalism, Colloquialisms 3, History of Magic 3, and Illusions 3.  
  
@ me if you need help with any of those, and/or if you’re confused by Discord’s setup. (Follow me on social media @renarouge) (edited) 

**I like tortals (Nino)  
** Sup! The name’s Nino, I made this server despite what **@Admin Alya** wants to make you believe, and i use he/him pronouns. 3rd year, also majoring in Integrated Magic in Media, no minor. Currently taking Sound Design, HoM, History of Magic and Music, Music theory. (im literally dying pls help)

 **Adrien  
** Heyo, I’m Adrien! I use he/him pronouns, disaster bi, regretting my life decisions. I’m in 3rd year too, but I’m here as an exchange student (sort of). I’m getting a general bachelor of witchcraft degree and am taking Magic Theory 3, Illusions 3, HoM 3, Physics 3 (dont @ me i like it ok)

* * *

Message #welcome

* * *

“Woah, what? This Adrien guy from last night has three of the same courses as me,” said Marinette. She remembered his shy smile, and his extremely cute (exaggerated) reaction to her dad’s cookies. She knew they had History together, but what were the chances that they had such a similar course load? 

“Imagine if you were in the same classes too,” said Alya, and bit off half of her breakfast wrap.

“I’d have to cast Lucky Charm for _that_ to happen,” said Marinette between sips of her coffee, “The universe would never let me be in such close proximity with a guy that cute for so long.” 

“Careful, your polka-dots are showing,” teased Alya, and finished her sandwich. According to Alya, whenever Marinette cast Lucky Charm her whole body glowed red with black polka-dots. Marinette wasn’t sure she believed her; Alya usually saw a single colour, and a specific pattern seemed unrealistic. Casting it _was_ like being drunk with power though; it made her really light headed and giddy for a moment, and it was the most powerful spell she knew how to cast. Since she was still inexperienced, she got completely magically drained for the rest of the day, so it was still not worth it to cast on trivial things. It wasn’t like she _had_ to use it often, and besides, using it would be like cheating at life! It was in good health to have things go wrong once in a while. Well… maybe life could tone it down a little; her late slips were starting to pile up. 

“Shoot! What time is it?” asked Marinette, already checking her phone to see for herself. “I’m gonna be late!!” She threw everything in her bag and shot out of her seat. Her heartbeat picked up by double the speed, the coffee only making her stress level increase rather than making her more alert. “Bye Alya!!”

“Say hi to Chloe for me!” Alya called after her.

Marinette turned around to stick out her tongue, and kept sprinting across the campus. There were still remnants of the Arts Festival littered all over the ground, but at least the kiosks were gone. She almost tripped over something, but she steadied herself, and made it to class just as the clock turned the hour. 

The lecture hall Magic Theory was hosted in was bigger than the body of her class, so she thankfully had a large selection of seats to choose from. It was absolutely gorgeous; the ceiling was a floating library of magical resources, controlled by runes you learned to use in the very first magic theory unit. The floor was also nothing to sneeze at, each table was magically carved, and self cleaned gum and graffiti too. It was a senior tradition to figure out a way to permanently mark them somehow, after one table infamously had to be permanently retired because not even the best professors could undo the graffiti that said “erase me challenge”. The lecture hall was _nothing_ compared to the magical library the college had, though; Marinette would know, she practically lived there. 

She started heading towards her usual spot at the front, but a voice called her name out. About four rows up, and near the wall, was sitting none other than Adrien Agreste himself. And sitting _beside_ Adrien was none other than _Chloe Bourgeois_. 

Despite the _unfortunate_ circumstances, she made her way over. “Hey! Adrien, right? You’re Nino’s friend from last night, right?” She grinned far too wide. Oh god, she just said ‘right’ twice in a row! This was a disaster. 

“Yeah! I’m glad I got your name right too, that would have been awkward if I yelled the wrong one across the class. What’re the chances we’re in two classes together!” 

Marinette opened her mouth to say they might even have three, but a certain _someone_ interrupted.

“Oh! Marinette! I didn’t see you there. I didn’t know you were friends with _Adrien_ here,” said Chloe. All Marinette’s nervous energy immediately dissipated, and was replaced by unkempt rage. Talking to a cute boy was nothing compared to how insufferable _she_ was going to be for the semester. 

“You two know each other?” he asked, not picking up on any of the subtleties. 

“You could say that…” said Marinette, “How- how do you know Chloe?” 

“We just met,” he said with a grin. Marinette was too tired for this, so she smiled back, and slumped into the seat next to him. He was so clueless! Chloe was only being nice to him because he was cute, but all he could see was the ‘Chloe is being nice’ part of that. Then again, Marinette was sort of in the same boat as Chloe, which wasn’t something she was very proud of. Adrien’s clueless grin didn’t do anything to calm her attraction, that was for sure. A meme Alya sent her popped into her head; it was about being ‘morosexual’, which meant only liking morons. Heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks. How was it that Alya was ruining Marinette’s composure without even _being there_?! For all Marinette knew this was some sort of wacky simulation Alya created so Marinette could have a do-over with her introduction and not screw up. Wouldn’t that be nice.

As the Professor droned on about the course curriculum, Marinette kept thinking about other things, and bouncing her leg, and chewing the inside of her mouth. ‘Things’ may or may not have been that Adrien was sitting right next to her, and he was buzzing with magic. She forgot to bring fidget toys with her, but she usually didn’t need them when she took her ADHD potion. Ah. She forgot to do that today. No _wonder_ she’d been so all over the place.

Something tapped her arm, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sorry,” whispered Adrien, “Didn’t mean to scare you. I just noticed you were- well- here.” He was holding out slime, the kind to fidget with. “It’s the charmed kind that doesn’t stick but still feels nice to play with.”

Marinette didn’t know whether to laugh or thank him. Fortunately for her, her face decided to flush. Which was neither. Fantastic. “Ahah- uhm- thank you. Sorry if my leg bouncing was bothering you.” Adrien handed her the slime, and it had just the right texture and consistency to start playing around with it absent-mindedly. It was still a bit warm from Adrien’s hand (not in a weird way!), and it radiated magic that was strangely familiar. 

“Nono, don’t worry about it, it’s just that- I’m the same? I think? I never got diagnosed but I probably have ADHD or something like that, and if I’m playing with something in my hand, my legs don’t bounce.” His smile shone brighter than the Shooting Star, and she felt magic oozing off his demeanor, like it was drawing her in. He wasn’t even casting anything, but she could still sense him for some reason, and again, it felt somehow familiar. Maybe she’d been more aware of him last night than she’d realized.

“Oh, Adri-kins, you don’t have to _lie_ to spare her feelings. _Obviously_ it was annoying us,” said Chloe. Marinette sucked in a breath, and tensed. Just her luck. 

She stopped herself from doing anything though, because she saw the change on Adrien’s face. Marinette wasn’t sure what she was supposed to make of the wave of relief that flowed through her as Adrien’s smile wiped off his face, and he started turning on Chloe. She knew it wasn’t exactly morally correct, but the satisfaction of seeing Adrien realize her true colours outweighed the blow of the insult by a landslide. 

“Class, listen up!” bellowed their professor. He wasn’t looking in Marinette’s direction, and she noticed he’d jolted awake a few students in the back rows. Thank goodness. “This year your self taught culminating projects will be done in pairs, and I want you to decide on them now so you can get a head start. It’s a research project about a specific magic type, I put up your options on the Google Classroom. The code’s on the board so make sure to jot that down before the end of class.”

Marinette glanced over to Adrien. They just met, but maybe- no, no, even if Chloe said one mean thing didn’t mean he’d immediately dismiss her, and even though she does worse in class she _is_ a lot more outgoing and--

“Do you want to do the project with me?” asked Adrien; looking at Marinette. There was no mistaking who he asked, and it was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. He had a twinkle in his eye, and she felt that jolt of familiarity, that magnetism. Her cheeks were so hot that she was sure she looked like a tomato. _It’s just a school project, get it together!_

“Y- yeah! Yes, sure! If you want to- I mean. Well, _you_ asked _me_ so you probably _do_ want to-- agh I’m sorry!!” 

Adrien laughed, and the sound was so clear and beautiful that Marinette wanted to burst into tears. She was probably going to if she didn’t get out of this classroom right away. “You joined Nino’s Discord server right? It’s a pretty useful app, so we can use that to talk and call and stuff!”

What had Marinette gotten herself into? “Yeah, that’s perfect!” No! That was not perfect! She had no clue how to use that app!

“Uh- what about _me_? Who am _I_ supposed to work with?” asked Chloe. Finally, the brat jumped out. Marinette was getting a little worried someone had shapeshifted into her and took her place with all the silence going on.

“Sorry Chloe, I figured that since I bounce my legs a lot you’d be too annoyed to work with me. Maybe next time,” said Adrien. He somehow managed to have absolutely no malice in his voice whatsoever.

Marinette had to cup her hands around her mouth to keep herself from screaming into oblivion. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on social media! 
> 
> [Tumblr](https://ghost-maya.tumblr.com)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ghostmayaa)
> 
> Also, fun fact, the Discord invite I used in this fic is, in fact, real! It's a dead Miraculous server I'm a mod for, so join it to bring it back to life!! I'll probably post previews to my fic there and would love to have people to talk about Love Square shenanigans with. [Join here!](https://discord.gg/fAwutyW)


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